THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman,
Senator Warner. Thank you for those kind words. And Mrs. Reagan, let
me say what a special honor it is for Lynne and me to be here with you
and your family today. Governor Warner, Senator Allen, Secretary
Johnson, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

I am very pleased to visit Naval Station Norfolk, and I
appreciate the warm welcome. I am sorry to disappoint those who
wanted me to arrive the way the President did recently on the USS
Lincoln. (Laughter.) But maybe when you're next in port, I'll try
it.

Today we send forth a great American ship bearing a great
American name. To the officers and crew, and all the personnel of
this base, I bring personal greetings from our Commander-in-Chief,
President George W. Bush. (Applause.)

For everyone who loves the Navy and honors its traditions, and
for everyone who admires the name and the legacy of our 40th President,
this is truly a day for celebration. If the purpose of naming an
aircraft carrier is to convey the strength and seriousness of this
country and our military, then we have certainly accomplished
that. Something tells me that any potential adversary of the United
States will take notice when word arrives that the USS Ronald Reagan
has been sighted offshore. (Applause.)

Today, our military gains a hundred thousand tons of
American ingenuity and American power. This ship, with its tremendous
endurance and virtually unlimited range, rises 20 stories above the
water, nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall, and will
sail the seas for 20 years without refueling.

There is only one nation in the world that has the resources and
the skills needed to build a nuclear-powered warship of this size and
capacity. There is only one Navy in the world that can project
its might and its mission to the farthest corners of this earth.
(Applause.) There is only one ship in the world that bears the name
of a living American President. (Applause.) And today, the USS
Ronald Reagan becomes the newest member of the greatest Navy ever
assembled. (Applause.)

I want to congratulate everyone who helped build this ship,
everyone who will sail in it, and everyone who will help make it worthy
of its great name.

The Navy we have today is in many ways a monument to the vision
and the conviction of Ronald Reagan. He came to the presidency with
a clear understanding of the tools our Navy would need to protect
the American people and to defend our interests, to honor our
commitments to allies, and to maintain command of the seas.

During his watch, he authorized the construction of four
Nimitz-class aircraft carriers: the Abraham Lincoln, the George
Washington, the John C. Stennis, and the Harry S. Truman. "Maritime
superiority," President Reagan said, "is for us a necessity. We
must be able in time of emergency to venture in harm's way,
controlling air, surface and subsurface areas to assure access to
all the oceans of the world. Failure to do so," he warned, "will
leave the credibility of our conventional forces in doubt."

President Reagan spent eight years in the White House removing
all doubts about the credibility of our forces, or about the
clarity of America's purposes. With complete courage and confidence,
he asserted the right of all people and all nations to live in
freedom. He believed that history is on the side of liberty, and
that all tyrannies are doomed to failure. (Applause.)

He believed these things long before he became President, and
long before he ever entered politics. Nothing could shake his
determination to rebuild the strength and the morale of every branch
of the United States military. Nothing could shake his deep
moral confidence and sense of purpose. And because of these
qualities, Ronald Reagan changed the course of history as few men
have ever done. (Applause.) He has seen the cause he stood for
vindicated in his own lifetime, and the free peoples of the world will
honor his name for generations to come. (Applause.)

The USS Ronald Reagan sets sail in a world filled with new
dangers. Twenty-two-months-ago, we learned that threats which
gather for years in secret can suddenly appear in our own cities. In
a moment of tragedy, our nation was called to wage a global
effort against terrorists and the threats they pose. And under
President Bush, this campaign has been focused and unrelenting, and
the conduct of our military has been superb. (Applause.) The
outcome is certain: It will be complete victory for the United States
and the cause of freedom. (Applause.)

In this war, our carriers have played, and will continue to play,
a decisive role. On the morning of September 11th, 2001, the
aircraft carrier USS Enterprise was heading home to Norfolk. Within
moments, the ship reversed course, and by the next day, was within
striking distance of Afghanistan, awaiting further orders. It was
soon joined by the Carl Vinson, the Kitty Hawk, the Theodore
Roosevelt, and the Stennis. Many of the combat missions supporting
ground operations in Afghanistan came from these carriers, and gave the
Taliban its first and last glimpse of American air and sea power.
(Applause.)

Carriers were deployed with equal effect for the liberation of
Iraq. That conflict signaled a new era in warfare, in which
precisely targeted weapons launched from great staging bases at sea
enabled us to destroy the command centers of an enemy regime, while
sparing civilians and leaving infrastructure intact. In Afghanistan
and in Iraq, we've removed regimes that supported terror against
others, and brutalized their own people. Those were swift campaigns,
but they were not easy.

And the United States remains prepared to face difficulty and
to confront danger wherever we must. As this nation leads the
world in fighting terror, we cannot predict every turn in the
future course of battle. But standing on this great floating
airfield, we can know, at least, that we are ready to answer
any challenge to the freedom and security of America and our friends.
(Applause.)

More than two decades ago, President Reagan made his first voyage
to an aircraft carrier, the USS Constellation. He called that
ship "a powerful force in an uncertain world." And a generation
later, we can say that of the ship that we've now named for him.

Last month, the Constellation returned home from its final
deployment in the Arabian Gulf, where it served as the night
carrier throughout Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Constellation will
now be replaced by the Ronald Reagan, which, in its own time, will
know its share of heavy winds and rough seas. But in the lifetime of
this carrier, as in the lifetime of its namesake, enemies of freedom
will fall away, and the realm of freedom will expand further across the
face of the earth. (Applause.)

As we think this afternoon of our 40th President, we think also
of the devoted wife at his side. Mrs. Reagan, our nation is so
grateful to you. You've shared in your husband's great life. And
today, you share in the pride of this tribute from the people of the
United States of America. (Applause.)

May this ship find safe passage in all the voyages ahead, and
may Almighty God watch over the officers and crew of the USS Ronald
Reagan. (Applause.)